How to Carry Sales Momentum Through the Holidays and Into the New Year (Ask Jeb)

What It Covers

Sales leader Kyle Begbie asks Jeb Blount how to maintain team momentum through December holidays into the new year after recovering from a difficult first half. Blount provides tactical strategies for prospecting discipline, pipeline management, and team mindset.

Key Questions Answered

• •The 30-Day Prospecting Rule: Prospecting activity in any given thirty day period generates results over the following ninety days. Taking December off from prospecting creates poor January and February performance in staffing. Leaders must run daily prospecting blocks through holidays to maintain pipeline velocity and prevent first quarter revenue gaps.
• •Close Before Year-End: Deals in pipeline during December that appear closable must be prioritized immediately because customers and salespeople both assume they have time. Deals rolling past Christmas into January have near-zero close probability and essentially restart from scratch. Leaders should review every salesperson's pipeline to identify qualified opportunities and personally drive closure.
• •Lead Prospecting from the Front: Sales leaders cannot set and forget prospecting expectations during holidays. Run daily call blocks with the team, establish specific times for sequences, and personally demonstrate the behavior. Dispersed or office-based teams need visible leadership participation every single day through the holiday period to maintain discipline and accountability.
• •Pre-Position for January Success: December provides time to identify targeted prospects for first quarter, clean up CRM data, and compile lists of closed-lost accounts from previous year where competitors may have underdelivered. Building these lists enables teams to hit ground running January first instead of wasting two weeks in post-holiday sluggishness and indecision.